Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Prices for coal shipped from South Africa’s Richards Bay, site of the world’s largest export terminal for the fuel, slid for a second week as Indian buyers struck deals in a “quiet” market.

Export prices at the port fell 25 cents, or 0.4 percent, to an average of $60.90 a metric ton in the week ended Sept. 11, according to McCloskey Group Ltd. That’s the lowest in nine weeks. Prices have lost 60 percent in the past year on weaker demand for power and coal as companies cut output in response to a worsening global economy. Demand may pick up after France and Germany, the biggest euro-zone economies, emerged from recessions.

“There was not massive liquidity last week,” Mike Newman, an analyst at Petersfield, England-based McCloskey, said by phone today. “It was quite quiet.” There were a couple of agreements with Indian buyers, he said.

Richards Bay, on South Africa’s northeastern coast, has traditionally been the biggest single source of coal for Europe. Coal is burned for about 30 percent of power in the 27-nation European Union, according to Brussels-based industry group Euracoal. Officials from India, where demand for the fuel is outstripping supply, visited Australia this month to assess potential acquisition targets.

Richards Bay Shipments

Richards Bay exported 5.59 million tons of coal in August, 5.9 percent more than a year earlier, the terminal said in an e- mailed response to questions on Sept. 3. At its current shipment rate, it will export 58.5 million tons of coal in 2009, compared with capacity of 76 million tons and shipments of 61.79 million tons last year. The terminal is owned by the country’s largest coal exporters, including Anglo American Plc, BHP Billiton Ltd. and Xstrata Plc.

Transnet Ltd., South Africa’s state-owned transportation utility, estimates there will be demand to haul between 81 million and 83 million tons of coal annually on its Richards Bay railway line over the next 15 to 20 years. The company plans to complete a study into demand for a possible line to the Waterberg region by November, Fuzile Magwa, a manager at Transnet Freight Rail, said on Sept. 8.

Power-station coal prices at the Australian port of Newcastle, a benchmark for Asia, rose 0.6 percent, ending six straight weeks of declines. The index for coal prices at the New South Wales port climbed 41 cents to $66.71 a ton in the week ended Sept. 11, according to the globalCOAL NEWC Index.

While Richards Bay is the world’s biggest coal-export terminal, Newcastle ships more of the fuel from two terminals.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alistair Holloway in London at aholloway1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 14, 2009 06:20 EDT